After securing a huge three points last Saturday against Birmingham City, Charlton Athletic sit nine points clear of Leicester City and the relegation zone with 10 games to go.
As the Addicks aim to survive a season in the second tier for the first time since the 2014/15 season, the victory at the weekend will have given their fans even greater confidence that they will remain in the Championship.
With the season hurtling towards the finish line and the run-in coming at full pelt here is analysis of the Reds final fixtures of the seasons and where they can pick up the remaining points to secure safety with ease and comfort.
Going to the Riverside to face a Middlesbrough side who have picked up 39 points from 19 matches under Kim Hellberg is one of the trickiest fixtures in the league.
With Boro having won their last two fixtures away to Birmingham City and QPR by an aggregate of 7-1 the test may seems daunting and the South East London side will not be expected to get anything from the match.
The Addicks success over the weekend the desire for points isn’t so great and if they do it will be an added bonus as they tick the points over.
Their final three matches represent stern tests including their final two home matches where they take on Ipswich Town who may still have a realistic chance of securing promotion via the automatic promotion spots while Hull City may still need the points to avoid them looking over their shoulders and book a playoff berth.
If the respective sides have little to play for with them already entrenched in the playoff area then it could be a chance for Charlton to finish a season of strong home form with a flourish as they look to hopefully build on survival.
Charlton picked up their best victory of the season back in October when they defeated the Tractor Boys 3-0 at Portman Road while a point away to Hull will be seen as a point gained after their impressive season thus far.
The side who got promoted via the playoffs in League One last season will be hoping to secure their position in the Championship before their final three games with no worries of being dragged into the relegation mire and give The Valley faithful more memories of what has been a battling albeit successful season.
Before their final two tough matches at The Valley to finish the season, games against Norwich City, Bristol City and Preston North End will give the hosts a chance to finish off the season with a flourish.
None of these three sides are within two wins of the playoffs or in the Canaries’s case their 10 points buffer to the bottom three means that they don’t have to worry about a potential return to League One for the first time since 2009/10 which they were before the turn of the year.
The Robins have won just three of their last 11 matches whilst Preston’s form is even more concerning with the Lilywhites only winning one of their last 10 fixtures.
The three sides do boast strong form on their travels with them having the 7th, 8th and 11th best records but witih all three sides looking towards another season in the Championship for 2026/27 they may take their foot off the gas in contrast to Charlton wiho will maximise everything they can to ensure survival.
In the reverse fixtures earlier on in the season the Addicks failed to score once against these three sides, only picking up a point against Bristol City back in August so will be looking to enact revenge on those results
Charlton have the fourth worst away record in the league having won just three games on their travels which is level with West Brom and only betters the beleaguered Sheffield Wednesday who have won just once.
After their tough encounter against Middlesborough on Wednesday night their final four away games represent a chance to improve on their 16 points won away from The Valley.
This weekends fixture against Oxford United will be decisive in the U’s season as they aim for a third consecutive season in the Championship but it will also be a test of Charlton’s credentials and if they can extend their current points gap to the sides below them.
The Yellows have got the joint second worst home record in the league with 18 points from 17 matches which the Addicks can exploit despite a poor run of form at the Kassam Stadium where they haven’t won in their last six visits.
A visit to Vicarage Road will also have its challenges with Watford currently sitting ninth in the table and may still harbour chances of making a late dash for the playoff spots with the Hornets also having the 6th best home record in the division.
Having beat Watford on opening day through a last gasp winner from Harvey Knibbs, Charlton will back themselves to do it again despite them having been through two managers since they last played each other.
Sheffield Wednesday may be winless in their last 30 matches up to this point having accrued just the seven points in that time including losing their last 13 but they still represent opposition who can cause a potential banana skin.
In their last 11 games they have only lost by two goals once and that was a 4-0 drubbing by Swansea City, in addition to this in their last five matches they have scored in four of them suggesting that they are on the wrong end of fine margins.
While the Addicks will back their chances to put another victory on the board it is not necessarily a guaranteed three points before that first whistle blows.
In the reverse fixture they scraped a 2-1 win with the Reds being on the backfoot for the majority of the second half albeit a lot has changed with the Owls predicament since then.
To finish the season off, Charlton travel to Swansea who have been invigorated since appointing Vitor Matos back in November.
Their home form has dragged them out of what was seemingly a relegation battle with eight wins in 10 matches at the Swansea.com Stadium remaining unbeaten in all those matches.
With both sides very unlikely to have anything play for come the end of the season, the Addicks can express themselves and end the season on a high while being expectant that the Swans will take all three points with their strong home form, in clear contrast to Charlton’s poor away record.
Having suffered relegation back down to the third tier in their last two seasons at the level in 2015/16 and 2019/20, Charlton fans will only believe that they will be safe once they are mathematically confirmed to survive.
Their remaining 10 matches will give them belief that they can both survive with comfort but also be looking up at the table rather than down and looking towards a lower mid-table finish.
